ANSWERS from a best selling author.

[GordonJ]

Here are the answers to YOUR questions.

This morning I sat down with Raymond Steinbacher, who's book, Computer Friendly, has sales of 1.6 million copies and counting. Ray has written 5 other books and has been translated in 12 languages.

I asked him the questions you posted here and via email. So I'll start with those and in the order posted/rec'd, fair enough?

Then I'll add his answers to my questions (some of them, we spoke for 2 hours, so I'll have to condense things).

donsonic had 3 Questions:

1. What are the hottest topics/content that sell during a recession? Any way to research this?

Raymond's response: I look for hot topics that can sell at anytime, that are recession proof. I'm currently looking and researching into a HOT topic that has to do with bank security and is in the news. Since I can respond rapidly, I like things that have a wide appeal. It is hard to sell a million books to a small niche. I can tell you that Green Tree Press, my publisber, has survived several 'recessions' and that they publish books that help people either make money, save money or are in someway related to overcoming the "fear" during these times. So I would advise you to look for ideas that will HELP people I just bought some chickens for my 65 acre retreat, and I found that chickens are a HOT topic...maybe I'll write a special report on that.

I do a couple of hours a day a few days a week when I research and I use google and I'm starting to fall in love with bing.com

2. What are the best ways to reach your market today? Use internet only or combination of mailorder, voicemail, email marketing and internet?

My best advice: use every marketing weapon at your disposal. Internet is now a must, but there are lists avaiable that have tens of thousands of names on them, and these people have bought books, so why not use that too? I haven't used voicemail and my publisher doesn't use it, they do have a toll free number which does help. The internet has been minimal but we really haven't tried it that much, but our tests show some potential and Gordon is here to help us analyze this, so we'll probably be doing a lot more online.

3. How do you establish your price and what is the highest amount you could charge today?

My books have sold for 12.95 and the price was established by the publisher, however, he and I are both making a transition and I'm working on more niche specific books that I'll charge more for, but the printed books that will now be going to bookstores, will have competitive pricing. Since my publisher is all Direct Marketing or Direct Response and is one of the best in the business, I leave it in his hands to set the price. Today, I'm looking at doing a 67.00 book which is a competitive price for the information I'll be offering. he general rule of thumb is that the more niched your info, the higher price. Since I have done pretty well with lower priced books, I'll stay with that as I expand into niches.

From Dien: how to choose a hot topic to write about. I've covered some of that, but I like mass market appeals, and topical stuff. I stay on the front end of trend research, I keep on top of my specialty which is computers and I keep an open mind.

Again, it could be what the publisher WANTS me to write about, and he has already done some research or what he thinks might be a good topic. Once I had a book that was selling, then I was able to present more ideas.

what is his specific method of planning and writing a book

I like to use an outline overview, get a big picture concept of what the book is going to say to the market, what I think needs to be covered and then rough out an outline. Sometimes, however, the publisher wants a certain length book so the challenge is how mucr or how little to write. In the beginning I was more verbose, today I'm more concise and pithy, I think a lot of new writers tend to write too much (for these non-fiction type books) so there is editing to do too.

What environment do you like to write your books in? (E.g. do you lock yourself alone in a room, do you write at a cafe, etc.)

Good question. At the start of a project, I'll go to the beach, cafe, park and try to get a good rough outline, then when I start to fill in the details, I DO lock myself in a room, and especially if I'm under dead line, and it is tough.

I don't know about other writers, but it is hard work to get a concise chapter done and it requires some serious angst and downright hard work...don't let anyone tell you otherwise. Also writing can get to be an extremely lonely process when you have to turn in a project. But the start of a project, I'm much more casual and relaxed about it. Hey, write where you can write, what works for me may not work for you.
What do you use to write, specifically?

(E.g. Do you use a computer and word processor, do you write "long hand" with a pen, do you dictate your books then get it transcribed, etc.)

I'm a COMPUTER only writer, can't even read my own handwriting and dictating gives you a different product, tried it, didn't work for me. All computer.

How do you make yourself focus when it is time to write, and not be distracted?

This is when you realize it is WORK. Old friends think you have an easy job, "is that all you do is write"? Well, obviously they have never written under the gun of a deadline. It is WORK and like any other job (I know wannabee writers hate the idea of having a job, but)...when you have to get the job done, the boss won't except any excuses so you sit your butt down in a chair and as Larry the Cable guy says, you 'ger er done'. Nothing magical about it you want to have the royalty checks keep coming in.

Do you try to put yourself in a particular "mood" when you write? A related question... Do you listen to music when you write?

I DO listen to music, almost as a very low background noise and I do like to get into a good writing mood, but I learned very early that the "mood" thing was crutch for not getting work done...and I've found that when I have to get the writing done, I turn off all music, close the door and just write. For me, having to be in a "mood" in order to write was counterproductive. We writers have too many excuses already to not work, so don't create any more. Writers are procrastinators, let me change that, people who want to be writers procrastinate, guys like me who have a book with over a million copies sold, we WRITE...no excuses.

What methods do you use to sell your books?

I'm not self-published, I'm under contract to a publisher and I leave that up to him, but as mentioned, it is primarily Direct Marketing and any other means possible. Some of my books are sold to colleges to be used as text books and there are others sold to corporations, but I'm not involved in the selling process other than to compare my royalty checks against sales. I write and leave the selling to the pros.


How long does it take you to write a book (including research, planning, etc.)?

I wrote my first book the one with over 1.6 million copies sold in about 4 to 6 weeks and it took another month to fill it out and smooth it out for publication. Most of my books are written in a couple of weeks.

From Lindac
His books are not sold in bookstores and you probably have never heard of him.

My question is...Why write the books?

I asked. His one word response. MONEY.

Although he did elaborate. Now, it's more than just the money but in the beginning I was made an offer to write a book, a substantial offer but was told I would not receive any royalties. It was a large amount and I was tempted, but my thinking was, if this guy wants to "buy" my book outright, there must be more money than what he is offering, so I refused his offer, agreed to write for a royalty only and it was the best decision of my life. It has afforded me, at 43, to live a life that most people only dream about and I can do what I want whenever I want.

Today, I write because I can help people I get thanks from people all over the world who have bought my books and have benefitted from them, so although I said MONEY was the reason, and it is the primary reason, now I have some ego involved and like to see my name on a book and I enjoy the respect of banker too, which is a nice side benefit.

But I think a writer should write because she/he needs to, must, wants to but if you're going to write non fiction HOW TO type stuff, why not make a million bucks doing it?

OK. I'll have some answers to the questions I asked the owner of Green Tree Press later this week. This has been an eye-opening visit, plus I get to go to Presque Isle to sit on the beach too...sweet stuff.

Gordon Jay Alexander

[Dien Rice]

Hi Gordon and everyone,

Wow... Thanks to Raymond Steinbacher and to Gordon too, that was a pretty "meaty" interview!

That was a "keeper"... I went over it with my "highlighter" to get some of the main points.

I do consider myself to be a writer (among other things), so it was of particular interest to me...!

Here are a few things that "leaped" out at me...

Originally Posted by GordonJ interviewing Raymond Steinbacher

I look for hot topics that can sell at anytime, that are recession proof. ... It is hard to sell a million books to a small niche. ... look for ideas that will HELP people

This is great advice. What interests me is that this is the "opposite" advice of some, which advise writing for a small niche. I think it's because, if you focus on a small niche, it might be an easier sale (to people in that niche), because there's less competition. But, you're also limiting your final potential sales. So if you have strong marketing, go for the bigger niche!

My best advice: use every marketing weapon at your disposal. ... there are lists avaiable that have tens of thousands of names on them, and these people have bought books, so why not use that too?

We haven't talked about using lists here for a while. It's very sensible advice!

the more niched your info, the higher price

That's a great reminder of how a "niche" strategy should work. Because of the smaller niche market, you have to compensate for lower potential sales by a higher profit margin.

I know a lot of academic books are like this. The most I paid for a book was over $200, for a very specialized quantum mechanics book (back when I was doing physics), published by Cambridge University Press. (It was called "The Quantum Theory of Motion" by Peter Holland. I see it's only around $100 now, but when it first came out, it was more expensive! It was, and still is, targeted to a very narrow niche.)

I also really appreciated Raymond's explanation of his writing process. I've read a little about various writing processes, and it's interesting to compare. I think it also varies according to people's personalities and preferences. However, I agree that "locking" yourself in a room can really help. Though personally, I find it helps if you have a window. Without a window to look out of, it can get depressing! But locking yourself in a room - with a window - works for me too... Though I also like cafes from time to time (thank goodness for laptops!).

I'm a COMPUTER only writer, can't even read my own handwriting and dictating gives you a different product, tried it, didn't work for me.

This was great. I've also tried the dictating approach, and I agree, it ends up different compared to writing/typing. I find my articles have a different "quality" to them when they are dictated as well.

Old friends think you have an easy job, "is that all you do is write"? Well, obviously they have never written under the gun of a deadline

I find this too... A deadline helps to focus the mind...!

I wrote my first book ... in about 4 to 6 weeks and it took another month to fill it out and smooth it out for publication. Most of my books are written in a couple of weeks.

This is great info! It shows you CAN create a book quickly, if you're focused!

I certainly found it valuable, and I added this interview to my "saved" list of information about writing and marketing!

Thanks again to Raymond and Gordon... I'm very grateful for this "insight" into the mind of a successful writer. It's great stuff!

Best wishes

Dien

[GordonJ]

You're welcome Dien.

We had an extensive interview session, over 2 hours, Raymond is an interestng guy. He is turning his 65 acre retreat into "project piddle" central. He just bought a DeLorean for a summer project, is thinking of putting up windmills, has a gas well and may go off the grid with a gas generator...all because he has the TIME and the MONEY to go with it.

Dien, wouldn't you like to snag a million bux or so from your BOOK? I know I would, Raymond got me fired up over the possibilites. OH, and he's also into movie making, I think I can get a part in his first "zombie" movie...isn't that a requirement for new independent film makers?

One part of the interview that I've never heard anyone talk about was how he dealt (poorly at first) with sudden "wealth". His first royalty check was in the high 4 figures, and then for months it was in the high 5 figures and when you're hauling down that kind of money, things can get a little crazy.

He quit a "secure" job that was paying around 30,000 and he made that much in one of the "bad" months with his book.

I'm going to be talking to Raymond again next week, and also Green Tree Press owner Pete Zesinger, so again, if you or if anyone has any questions, I'll be happy to ask.

As an aside, I got to go into the "basement archives" and pulled out ads from the 70's and 80's that were classics. Ernest P. "Bud" Weckesser was a genius at writing ads. If you want, I might be able to post a few and tell what his notes said about the ad.

Anyhow, it was an excellent trip to Erie and I'm excited to go back up and snoop around this amazingly successful publisher.

Now I've got to get busy on my BOOK. How about you?

Gordon Jay Alexander

Gordon,

Not sure about anyone else, but I would love to see "Bud's" ads. As well as his notes. I think that would be extremely educational and fun.


Thanks for the great interview.

Fishman

[GordonJ]

Originally Posted by Fishman

Gordon,

Not sure about anyone else, but I would love to see "Bud's" ads. As well as his notes. I think that would be extremely educational and fun.


Thanks for the great interview.

Fishman

Fishman,

The problem is TIME and VOLUME. There are hundreds of ads, with, perhaps, thousands of variables, thousands of TESTS. Dr. Weckesser was a prolific writer.

He was known to dash out several headlines quickly and then perfected them with testing.

My thinking it is this: it probably would be best to focus on the ads that sold the most products, the control ads, the tests which improved the response...otherwise, what good would it be to have hundreds of ads if we didn't know what they did...right?

I'll be back up in Erie next week and I'll begin to put together the ads in perhaps a chronological sequence and also in a "how they did" manner, starting with the very best sellng ads and going from there.

For me, it is truly LOST treasure. I've found an old Harvey Brody ad that was offering the lists of Joe Karbo and Gene Schwartz for rental. Harvey had one of the very first computer managed list services and his clients were a who's who of direct response marketing.

Just one note. As excited as I am about finding great history (because I believe I can learn from it)...Pete is excited about the TOMORROW of GTP, with his two new divisions coming "online" soon. GTP is very much a NOW company and a TOMORROW company...

I'm the guy who's getting the thrill from this buried treasure....and the insights into Dr. Weckesser's THINKING, well, that's just going to help ME become a better persuader too. I believe it important to learn from success, and for 35 years and counting, Green Tree Press has been and will continue to be successful.

If you have any suggestions on how to ORGANIZE this gold, I'm all ears, OK?

Gordon Jay Alexander

Gordon,

Thank you and Raymond Steinbacher for the reply to my questions.

I'm wondering now about two things for info-publishing? Would the recession survival market be a good one to enter for selling info? And the Macintosh market seems ready to explode. I'm a 12 year mac user and see that Internet Marketers just whizzing by the Mac market -- missing an opportunbity for some real serious bread. How do I know? I saw the days BEFORE PDF files IM guys were only putting out .exe files. And for software many are still doing this today. I'm wondering... The Mac IM Market could be big Big, BIG! See what you can find out when you have time.

Best Wishes and thanks for listening!

donsonic

[GordonJ]

Originally Posted by donsonic

Gordon,

Thank you and Raymond Steinbacher for the reply to my questions.

I'm wondering now about two things for info-publishing? Would the recession survival market be a good one to enter for selling info? And the Macintosh market seems ready to explode. I'm a 12 year mac user and see that Internet Marketers just whizzing by the Mac market -- missing an opportunbity for some real serious bread. How do I know? I saw the days BEFORE PDF files IM guys were only putting out .exe files. And for software many are still doing this today. I'm wondering... The Mac IM Market could be big Big, BIG! See what you can find out when you have time.

Best Wishes and thanks for listening!

donsonic

Right NOW, the Biz-Op field is booming. It is getting to an all time peak. Check out the "money making" magazines at your bookstore, and you'll see they have more pages of ads than at any time in the last 10 years.

There IS a huge market for work that can help people save money, make money, or better their living situations. Home GARDENING is booming, and that plays into your "survival" or "independence markets.

I'm not sure what you mean by Macintosh Market? PDF has become the default for reports, books and many communications. You'd have to elaborate on what Mac users are missing or why a person should buy a mac for their new computer. So, if you'd care to explain a little bit more about what a "mac IM market" is exactly, then we can figure it out.

Gordon Jay Alexander

Gordon,

Thanks for your prompt and brutally honest reply. I do appreciate you taking your time to assist in helping a dedicated fellow infopreneur .

1. For what you say, looks like the Biz opp is pretty HOT at this time! What would you suggest as the best way to reach this market? Offline ads in Income Opportunites, Money Making Opportunities, Home Business Opportunities magazines, as well as online websites like Entrepreneur etc?
Interested in marketing a series of reports to help people "Beat Recession."
Looking for cost effective and targeted ways to reach qualified buyers.

2. For the Macintosh market I see there is a huge potential for selling "How To Make Money With Your Mac" types of products. I am quite an expert in using this platform for producing ebooks, videos and websites etc. And have been quietly monitoring the PC based "Make Money Online" market over the past 10 years. And can honestly say the PC Make Money Online market is very dynamic, responsive and profitable. The Mac market has never had an influx of these type of offerings. Yet, from what products I have purcahsed and reviewed, the quality of the PC stuff is not quite up to the standards that we would expect. Yet, the PC based market stuff sells by the boatloads. I can see both a quality upgrade AND an opportunity to sell at a premium due to Mac's higher overall costs. But the benefits result in higher quality output.

Some folks may be to differ what I say about the Mac experience. But it is definitely going to grow by leaps and bounds. Just trying to get an advance foothold before PC competitors figure out the explosive potential. I'm saying this to say that, NO ONE is marketing to this exclusive audience with this type Biz Opp content. I feel it would go like gangbusters and have a key Mac hardware vendor interested in a few JV ideas.

Let me know if we should continue here or PM.

Best wishes for you and yours,

donsonic

[GordonJ]

Originally Posted by donsonic

Gordon,

Thanks for your prompt and brutally honest reply. I do appreciate you taking your time to assist in helping a dedicated fellow infopreneur .

1. For what you say, looks like the Biz opp is pretty HOT at this time! What would you suggest as the best way to reach this market? Offline ads in Income Opportunites, Money Making Opportunities, Home Business Opportunities magazines, as well as online websites like Entrepreneur etc?
Interested in marketing a series of reports to help people "Beat Recession."
Looking for cost effective and targeted ways to reach qualified buyers.

2. For the Macintosh market I see there is a huge potential for selling "How To Make Money With Your Mac" types of products. I am quite an expert in using this platform for producing ebooks, videos and websites etc. And have been quietly monitoring the PC based "Make Money Online" market over the past 10 years. And can honestly say the PC Make Money Online market is very dynamic, responsive and profitable. The Mac market has never had an influx of these type of offerings. Yet, from what products I have purcahsed and reviewed, the quality of the PC stuff is not quite up to the standards that we would expect. Yet, the PC based market stuff sells by the boatloads. I can see both a quality upgrade AND an opportunity to sell at a premium due to Mac's higher overall costs. But the benefits result in higher quality output.

Some folks may be to differ what I say about the Mac experience. But it is definitely going to grow by leaps and bounds. Just trying to get an advance foothold before PC competitors figure out the explosive potential. I'm saying this to say that, NO ONE is marketing to this exclusive audience with this type Biz Opp content. I feel it would go like gangbusters and have a key Mac hardware vendor interested in a few JV ideas.

Let me know if we should continue here or PM.

Best wishes for you and yours,

donsonic

donsonic,

The fastest way to reach the Biz-Op market is space ads in newspapers. Use ROP (run of press, Stand-By) and place an ad and within a day of publication you'll have answers; either customers or a flop. It is the fastest...HOWEVER, you have to have a lot of work done prior to placing the ad...including the ad itself and the back office part of being able to either receive phone orders, fax orders or mail orders and all that comes with that...processing credit cards, customer service, and fulfillment. FASTEST way AFTER...

you have all the ducks lined up at considerable expense.

DIRECT MAIL...probably the most cost effective...IF you have everything in place...including the product finished, a mail piece ready, a good LIST and that is the most important thing...this is at least a $10,000 route...and maybe as much as 6 months time.

MAGAZINE ads have about a 60 day period between the time you place them and they run...you need to have an ad ready to go, then place your order, WAIT until it runs and be set up to receive orders.

All of the above we are actively doing (I'm working on several Biz-Ops) and it can be a slow and frustrating experience.

The INTERNET gives you the fastest, cheapest and easiest way to go. The problem is getting target traffic to your offer. You could JV, if you want, or begin to develop a list (the standard double opt-in way via a FREE report or something) and get organic traffic or buy traffic. The problem is it is an overcrowded market, with guys with deeper pockets spending a lot more money on the traffic. Still, the Internet is a good way to get started.

There are several people here at SowPub that provide some "models" to follow. Dien Rice has the SeedZine and his own Hidden Business Ideas to look at. Michael Ross has the hotsheetcity.com model, a good plact to place a special report or hotsheet on you subject. Skip Rosell has an excellent "small specialty report" site at www.makemoneyalert.com

I'd suggest you

A) Create a promotion for the first report you are going to offer B) Write the report based on the promotion. C) Set up a web site and start selling it

For the MAC thing. Why not use the above A-B-C and write your promotion, How to Make Money Online with Your Mac or whatever. Write the report based on your promotion C) Start selling it, start with a change of your sig file on all the forums you attend, including any mac based ones, and see what kind of feedback you get.

The marketing method is going to be whatever you choose and can afford. You have to balance speed with costs, lists with traffic generation and consider all the back office costs involved. I'd just go ahead and use the guerrilla techniques, get it up and then keep working on it and perfect as you grow.

gjabiz

Hello Gordon, I'm new to the SOWPub forum but I'd like to retweet, hashmark or ditto (whatever the protocol de jour) Fishman's comments on the ads...

Take your time, just please do share them.